Welcoming Summer
On the day of the Start of Summer, candles were already burning in the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation before dawn. Xiao Huaijin dressed himself. His apricot-yellow field robe, its cuffs cinched with leather straps, was a new summer outfit made by the Wardrobe Office. He pulled on his new boots, inspected himself in the bronze mirror, then ran back to the couch and tucked the "Invocation for Welcoming Summer" he had prepared the night before into his sleeve.
He had spent several evenings writing this invocation. Zhou Rucheng had revised it three times, and he had copied it out four times. When he finished the last copy, Xiao Lin came over from the main hall to look at it and told him to move "revere Heaven" before "follow the ancestors"-Heaven came before the ancestors. That was ritual propriety.
"Imperial Father!" Xiao Huaijin pushed open the door to the main hall and found Xiao Lin already dressed in vermilion sacrificial robes. The Start of Summer belonged to fire; the Son of Heaven wore vermilion and welcomed summer in the southern outskirts. He stood in the doorway, the vermilion hem of his robes stirring gently in the morning breeze.
"Today we welcome summer. I will preside over the sacrifice, and you will perform the second offering. Have you memorized the invocation?"
"I have!" Xiao Huaijin pulled the invocation from his sleeve and cleared his throat, ready to recite it on the spot.
Xiao Lin caught his shoulder in time and turned him toward the doors. The imperial carriage was ready, and Liu An stood beside it with his back bowed. Xiao Huaijin climbed aboard and silently recited the invocation all along the way. He stumbled over "Zhurong governs summer; all things flourish together" and hurriedly unfolded the invocation to read it again.
"Zhurong is the god of fire. Governing summer means being in charge of summer." He folded the invocation and explained it to himself, then explained it again, as though saying it a few more times would fix it more firmly in his memory.
The imperial carriage passed through Nanhua Gate and headed for the southern outskirts. On either side of the road lay fields where the spring wheat had just been harvested, the stubble still in the soil. The freshly turned earth gleamed dark brown in the morning light. Xiao Huaijin leaned against the carriage window, looking at the fields, then suddenly turned back to ask, "Imperial Father, will the millet we planted at the ceremonial plowing be ready to harvest in autumn?"
Xiao Lin turned his head to look at him. The ceremonial plowing had been two months ago, yet this child still remembered that sacrificial field.
"Yes. Around the Start of Autumn. The Court of Agriculture has been tending it."
"Then I want to go and harvest it in autumn too."
"Mm."
The ceremony to welcome summer was held at the Temple of Heaven in the southern outskirts. According to Great Liang's rites, on the Start of Summer, the Son of Heaven led the assembled officials southward to welcome summer, worship Zhurong, and perform the three offerings-the emperor personally performed the first, the crown prince the second, and the minister of rites the final offering. In previous years, however, because the crown prince had been too young, the minister of rites had always performed the second offering in his stead.
The court's civil and military officials had already formed their ranks before the Temple of Heaven. Vermilion sacrificial banners snapped in the morning breeze. Zhurong-shi's spirit tablet stood at the center of the altar, with three offerings arranged on the table: new wheat, new beans, and new melons. The ritual herald from the Directorate of Ceremonial stood beside the altar, holding the invocation tablet, ready to announce the rites. Several elderly ministers in the front ranks caught sight of a small figure inside the imperial carriage and exchanged glances-the crown prince was to perform the second offering. His Majesty intended to have him formally take part in a grand state ceremony.
The ritual music began. Xiao Lin ascended the altar, his vermilion sacrificial robes especially striking in the morning light. He received the incense for the first offering presented by the Directorate of Ceremonial, knelt before Zhurong's spirit tablet, offered incense, presented the wine vessel, and kowtowed. The ritual herald intoned, "The first offering is complete-" Xiao Lin withdrew to the side of the altar, his gaze settling on the small apricot-yellow figure below.
"The second offering-the crown prince shall approach the spirit tablet!"
Xiao Huaijin took a deep breath and stepped onto the altar. His steps were steadier than usual, each one falling to the rhythm of the herald's announcements. Zhou Rucheng had specially trained him in this, having him walk to the drumbeats of "Cloud Gate." When he reached the spirit tablet, he lifted the hem of his robe and knelt. He received the incense for the second offering from the Directorate of Ceremonial, raised it above his head with both hands, then placed it in the incense burner. After offering incense, he received the wine vessel for the second offering and slowly poured the rice wine onto the kneeling cushion before the spirit tablet. Then he bent forward, touching his forehead to the icy altar stone, and kowtowed three times. Every movement matched the ceremonial procedure sent over in advance by the Ministry of Rites exactly. Below the altar, several elderly ministers from the ministry watched the crown prince's posture as he performed the rites, and some nodded faintly.
After kneeling and bowing, he was supposed to read the invocation. He reached into his sleeve and found nothing. His sleeve was empty-the invocation was gone. He had probably left it in the carriage instead of bringing it with him. His back stiffened in an instant, and a thin sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. A faint stir began below the altar. Several Ministry of Rites officials exchanged bewildered looks, and even the ritual herald froze for a moment.
Xiao Lin stood beside the altar without moving. He wanted to see how his child would react in such circumstances.
Xiao Huaijin closed his eyes for a moment. He remembered what his imperial father had said-"A ruler must not panic when faced with great matters. If you panic, you will remember nothing." He withdrew his hand from his empty sleeve and folded both hands on his knees again. He had written the invocation himself. Every word had passed beneath his own hand many times.
He raised his head, looked at Zhurong-shi's spirit tablet, and began to recite. "Zhurong governs summer; all things flourish together. The Son of Heaven leads the hundred officials southward to welcome summer, praying for a bountiful year."
His voice was still a little tight at first, but it steadied by the second sentence. "Revere Heaven and follow the ancestors; agriculture is the foundation of the state. Summer brings growth and autumn the harvest; virtue alone lends its aid. Your servant, Xiao Huaijin, obeying the Son of Heaven's command, performs the second offering. May Zhurong look down upon us and grant us abundant harvests. May grain and millet fill the fields, and the common people enjoy peace and health."
The invocation was short, only a few sentences in all. But he did not omit a single word or get a single word wrong. When he finished, he bent forward and performed the final kowtow. Below the altar, not a crow or sparrow could be heard. The Ministry of Rites officials who had been exchanging glances just moments earlier now all had their heads lowered. Sun Jingtang stood at the head of the western ranks, the corners of his mouth curving slightly behind his court tablet.
"The second offering is complete-" The ritual herald's voice was half a pitch higher than usual.
Xiao Huaijin rose, turned, and descended the altar steps. His legs felt a little weak, but his back remained perfectly straight. He came to a stop beside his imperial father and looked up to find his father watching him. Xiao Lin raised a hand and stroked his hair, then turned his gaze away to continue watching the final offering. The gesture was light, so light that the ministers beside them barely noticed, but Xiao Huaijin could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.
After the ceremony to welcome summer concluded, the imperial carriage returned to the palace. Sitting beside Xiao Lin, Xiao Huaijin suddenly said, "Imperial Father, I thought I had brought the invocation with me when I got out of the carriage."
"Mm."
Xiao Lin looked down at his child. Dust from his kowtows still marked his forehead, and fine beads of sweat covered the tip of his nose, but his eyes were bright.
"You did very well today. You lost the invocation, but you did not panic. For a ruler, remaining calm when faced with great matters is more important than anything."
Xiao Huaijin looked up at his imperial father. "How did you know I didn't panic?"
"When I was your age, I lost my invocation during my first second offering too."
Xiao Huaijin's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Really. Just like you, it was my first time taking part in the ceremony to welcome summer. Just before it began, I could not find the invocation. I stood on the altar with no one beside me to help me out of my predicament, and the grand tutor below could not help me either." Xiao Lin watched the morning light gradually brighten outside the imperial carriage. "After that, I memorized every invocation."
What he did not say was that after he had stumbled through the second offering, his imperial father had looked at him with eyes as cold as ice. Once they returned to the palace, he had been punished with confinement for his forgetfulness.
In that man's eyes, I was never a son, merely a tool...
Xiao Huaijin fell silent for a while, then rested his head against his imperial father's arm and said softly, "Imperial Father, you were amazing too."
The imperial carriage entered the palace gates. The lotuses beside Taiye Lake had only just begun to bud, and several dragonflies skimmed over the water, their wings shimmering faintly in the morning light. Xiao Huaijin leaned against his imperial father's arm, still silently reciting the invocation in his mind-Zhurong governs summer; all things flourish together. He would not forget it now.